Panel construction.



Patented Spt. 6, 1910.

B r. m E m 2 D E HUNTER PANEL CONSTRUCTION.

APPLIGATIOH FILED 001'. 20, 1909.

Patented Sept. 6,1910.

2 sums-sum 2.

' Fr Q5- NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID E. HUNTER, 0F CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO LIBRARY BU- I BEAU, 01E BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

PANEL CONSTRUCTION.

. Specification of Letters Batent.

Patented Sept. 6, 1910.

Application filed October 20, 1909. Serial No. 523,571.

citizen of the United States, and resident of Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Panel Construction, of-which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a panel construction particularly designed for use in cabinets and cases such as museum cabinets and itsprincipal objects are to provide a novel and improved frame joint and a panel construction in which the anel frame and the panel piece shall be ree from the possibility of relative movement and consequent distortion of the panel by sagging.

. While the invention is applicable to the construction of panels generally, it will, I believe, find its most useful application in panels used as doors for cabinets or the like wherein there is the greatest tendency to sagging and distortion owing to the fact that the whole weight of the structure is borne by one edge. I will therefore address my description to the embodiment of the invention in a door; it will be understood however that the invention is capable of more. general use and such general use is contem lated by the claims. In t e accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of the invention, Figure l is a front elevation of the upper corners of a door illustrating the invention, the other parts being broken away; Fig. 2 is a vertical section on line 2'2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of one upper corner of the door or panel construction. shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a perspective View of the top frame member viewed from the rear; Fig. 5 is a perspective view of one of the upright or side frame members viewed from the rear; Fig. 6 is a cross section on line 6-6 of Fig. 1; Fig. 7 is a front elevation of the lower corners of the door or panel construction, the other parts being broken away; Fig. 8 is a vertical section on line 88 of Fig. 7 and Fig. 9 is a plan view of one end of the bottom frame member.

Referring to the drawings, A represents. the panel piece which as herein shown is made of glass. Engaging the edges of the panel piece A at all four sides is-a channeled panel frame the top member of which B, and the side or vertical members of which B, preferably have an identical cross-sectional form, shown in Fig. 2. The channel of these frame members, formed by the channel walls I), b and the transverse web 6 at the bottom of the channel, engages the edge of the panel A as presently to be described. The wall 6 extends beyond the transverse web 6 as shown at b the wall 6, 72 forming the face of the anel frame.

When the anel piece and ffame members are assemble and supported atone verticaledge, as when used in a door, it willbe obvlous that the strain between the top and side frame members will subject the top part of the frame to tensionin a direction longitudinal of the top frame member B. I therefore provide a dove-tail joint between the top and side frame members consisting of the tenon 6* formed from the wall b, b, and undercut or notched as shown at b to vide an enlarged head. The channel wall I) of the top member B is also provided with the notch b .forining the half dovetail b which registers with the lower end of dovetail 7). The adjacent vertical member B is provided with a mortise b 'undercut as shown at b to fit the tenon 6*. This mortise .is cut from the face wall I; of the channel.

The cross web 6 of the frame member B and also the channel wall I) are cut away as best shown in Fig. 5, the latter made with a mortise b to fit the half tenon b; and

I the cross webs b of the frames meet at their ends, so-that when the two frame members are assembled the channel walls and cross webs will fit edge to edge thus forming a closed channel for the panel piece A. When the anel A is inserted within this channel it Wlll lock the mortise and tenon in place and prevent their dislodgment by relative forward or backward movement.

As the strain at the bottom of a door frame, when hung at the side edge, subjects the bottom part of the frame to compression rather than tension, it is not necessary to pro use a form of joint particularly adapted to withstand tension. While any form ofjoint ma be used at this point I recommend the fol owing: The bottom frame member B instead of having a cross-sectional form like the other frame members, maybe H-shaped in cross section as shown in Fig. 8. This is for the reason that the bottom frame member when the structure is used as a door usually comes in contact with the floor of the cabinet or case, whereas the top and vertical frame members make contact with similar panel frames at the sides and top of the case, as illustrated in Fi 6, wherein E and E represent respective y an adjacent and similar panel frame and panel. joint between the bottom frame member 13 and the side frame members B may therefore consist of a slot through the transverse web 6 of the side members throughwhich 'extends the tongue 6 cut from the transverse web 6 of the bottom channel member B by cutting away the vertical webs b" of said H-shaped member. The tongue b after being passed-through the slot in the web 12 of the side member may be headed over as shown at b in Fig. 7.

Hinges or butts C may be secured in any' suitable mannerttothe panel frame and are preferably secured in such manner as to cover the joint at the top of the door as shown in Fig. 1 thus affording additional security against dislodgment of the joint making arts. If desired, a plate similar to the p ate of the hinge or butt C may also be fastened over the joint at the outer or right hand'cornerof the door as viewed in Fig. 1, but I-believe that ordinarily such plate will not be foundnecessary, since the panel A itself will adequately lock the joint 1n lace. 1

t is found in practice that no matter how well made and how rigid may be the frame of such panel or door, there is'a tendency for the same to sag by reason of. a yielding of the corner joints and a slipping between the frame members and panel. It is impossible to procure commercial glass panels cut sufficiently accurately to fit evenlyagainst the bottom webs b of the channel frames;

' and even if a glass panel could be procured out with suflicient accuracy to abut at its edges against the webs b and so 'to hold the frame against sagging, any minute inaccuracy would still brmg undue weight to bear at certain points with liability to break or crack the glass. In order to distribute the strain evenly on the glass and to prevent the possibility of cracking or breaking the same and to prevent the panel construction from slipping and sagging, I leave a clearance between the edges of the panel and the webs b and insert between the surfaces of the panel and the walls of the channel an adhesive packing material, such as tarred paper, which makes frictional contact with the surfaces of the glass'panel A, thus preventing relative slipping between the panel and the panel frame, anddistributing the strain due to the weight of the structure evenly throughout the panel A instead of concentrating it at one pointor a few points.

This adhesive packing 1s shown in Fig. 2 at d. It may be compressivelfy held in contact with the surface of the panel A simply The fpiece.

by forcin it into the channel, or it is preferably he d in such compressive contact by the use of a strip of s ring metal d like that shown in my co-pen ing application Serial No. 475,548.

When the parts are assembled as described, and the panel used as a door and supported at the side edge by means of the hinges C, it .will be seen that the strain due to the weight of the door will be so distributed that the left hand frame member B (as viewed in the drawings) will serve as an abutment for the panel, the weight of which )ends to thrust the lower end of the panel toward the left, and the top frame member B will sup ort the tension or strain towardthe ri ht ue to the weight of the door, the adesive packing between" the panel and the top frame member'holding the panel by frictional engagement from movement longitudinally of the top-frame member.

I claim:

1. In combination, a panel piece, a channeled frame engaging the edges of the panel piece, an adhesive packing withinthe channel of the frame in contact with one surface of the panel piece, and a sprin between the wall of the channel and the a hesive packing adapted to press the latter into close frictional engagement with said panel piece.

2. In combination, a panel piece, a channeled frame engaging the edges of, the panel piece, an adhesive packing'on eachside of "the panel piece within the channel of the frame in contact with both surfaces of the 7 panel piece, and a spring between the wall of the channel and one of the adhesive packings adapted to press said ackin 5- into close frictional engagement with sai panel 3. In a panel construction, a panel piece, and a pair of channel metal frame members, each comprising a pair of webs or walls overlying and embracing the panel piece at its border and lying substantially parallel thereto, and connected by a transverse web extending across the edge of the panel piece, one at least of said webs overlying the border of the panel piece being formed into a dovetail tenon at its end and the adjacent web of t e other frame member having.

therein near its end a mortise engaging said tenon, the mortise and tenon corneroint thereby formed adapted to be separated when the panel iece is removed by moving said frame mem ers relatively in -a direction perpendicular to the plane of the frame formed by said members, and said panel piece adapted to hold said mortise and-tenon in interlocked relation when the parts are assembled. 4. In a panel construction, a pair of channeled frame members each having a face wall forming one of the legs of the channel neled frame members each having a face wall forming one of the legs of the channel and extending in the opposite direction beyond the web forming the bottom of the channel, the face walls of one of'said frame members formed into a dovetail tenon, part t --of which lies on one side and part on the dovetail mortise, said-mortise and tenon other side of the web forming the bottom of thechannel, and the face'wall' ofthe other of said 'framemembers providedwith a corresponding dovetail mortise, said mortise and tenon formifig a corner joint between said members. v

6. In a panel construction, a pair of channeled frame members each having a face wall forming one of the legs of the channel and extending in the opposite direction beyond the web forming the bottom of the channel, the face wall of one of said frame members provided vwith a corresponding forming a corner joint between said members, and a panel, whose edges are engaged by said channeled frame members, adapted to hold said tenon and mortise in inter- 'lficled relation when the parts are asseme '7 '7. A panel construction comprising a panel piece, a separable rectangular channeled panel frame whose channels engage the edges of said panel piece, the u per piece, and an adhesive packin and a pair of channeled frame membersenf- V corners of said frame provided with ovetail mortise and tenon joints adapted to be held in interlocked relation 'by the panel pr sively held between the walls o the channels and the surface of the panel piece, adapted to prevent relative movement or slipping between the frame and panel piece.

8. In a panel construction, a panel piece a panel whose edges are channeled frame members. E members formed into a dovetail tenon, and

the face wall of the other of said frame porting the tension due to the gaging the edges of said panel piece,.both

.walls of the channels of said frame members being provided respectively with interlocking tenons and mortises, forming a corner joint, and the panel piece adapted to hold said tenons and mortises in interlocked relation when the parts are assembled.

9. In a panel construction, a pair of chanv neled frame members, one a. top member and the-other a side member, each having a bottom of the channel, and the face wall of the other of saidframe members provided with a corresponding mortise, and the opposite wallof the channel of the first named -member formed into a half dovetail tenon registering with the correspondingpart of the tenon formed from the face wall, and the opposite wall of the channel of the second named member provided with a mortise adapted to engage said half tenon, and a engaged by said 10. In a door, an upright'channeled frame member, a top channeled frame member, means secured to the upright frame member to support the door at one edge, the two frame members r' 'idly secured together to withstand tension longitudinal of thetop frame due to the weight of the. i

door, a panel whose edges are within said channeled frame members, and an adhesive packing compressively held between the ,walls of the channel of the top frame memher and the surface of the anel and holding said panelin said channel y close frictional engagement with said surface, said upright frame member serving as an abutment for said panel, and said top frame member supweight of saiddoor.

Signed by me at Boston, Massachusetts this eighth day of October 1909.

DAVID E. HUNTER.

Witnesses: V

ROBERT'CUSHMA-N, v CHARLES D. Woonnnnnr. 

